The World: India proves a magnet for big-name publishers.

The country's political, cultural and economic climate is attracting increasing international investment.

When Liz Hurley graced the cover of the first Indian edition of Hello! magazine in mid-March following her lavish marriage celebrations to the Indian businessman Arun Nayar, there were two conclusions to be drawn. First, celebrity and the glossy fare offered by the likes of Hello! are now a global phenomenon. Second, India is a huge draw for foreign publishers.

The past three years have seen some of the biggest names in international publishing launch editions in India as the market reaches new levels of maturity.

Time Out, Maxim, OK!, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen and Marie Claire are just some of the magazines available at both British and Indian newsstands. But what makes India such a promising market?

China and India, which together account for 40 per cent of the world's population, are the two most attractive developing markets for publishers considering a global expansion path. Both markets are rapidly developing an affluent middle class, with high levels of literacy across all strata of society. But for some, India has the edge.

English is the Indian lingua franca, making it easy to communicate and share content for a start.

While China is seen as a legal minefield, with publishers concerned about many issues from intellectual property rights to press freedom, this is something of much less concern in democratic India, which also enjoys higher levels of media penetration.